Oxygen DISCONTINUED
by striderstuck
Summary: Suddenly, kissing him didn't feel right… Because you hardly knew each other… But you couldn't stop. From the looks of it, he couldn't stop either. dirk/jake fluff high school au DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

(AN: Oops, I accidentally Dirk/Jake High SchoolStuck at 5 AM. AU. Uhh, the trolls go to school with the Alpha kids because 1. It's an AU and 2. I needed bullies and side characters. Haha. Ignore how poorly written this is and.. yeah /no excuses)

**oOo**

The sun is beating through the Plexiglas panes of your recently repaired window. You lazily roll over and smush your pillow atop your head, dreading another day at the hell-hole that is Maplehoof High School. Nothing makes it worth it, nothing _ever_ will.

Your name is Dirk Strider, you're sixteen years old, and you go to what can only be described as the worst high school ever. It wasn't always so awful, you stayed out of the limelight for all of freshman and sophomore year, hell even the beginning of junior year was quiet. The October rolled around, oh boy. Word got out that you were the younger brother of the famous movie producer – but that's not the worst of it, oh no. You older brother had a reputation of sleeping around, which was cool in high school right? Totally. Too bad the tabloids caught wind of his boyfriend. ss

It's mid-November now and you've spent the last four weeks as the gay celebrity's little brother. You can't even walk from class to class without some asshole mimicking a beeping noise and yelling to evacuate, gaydar on high alert.

You didn't have a girlfriend either; you'd actually hadn't since freshmen year, boy _that_ was an experience. You weren't gay though, or well, you don't think you are? Honestly you don't really know – you're only sixteen for crying out loud. While that was entirely true, you wouldn't be for long. Your 17th birthday was fast approaching.

You made the pathetic effort to push yourself out of bed and continue with your preparing-for-school ritual. Clothes. Teeth. Hair. Simply as that. You made the short walk to the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal. (Rich as your brother may be, you still live in a shitty top-floor apartment for _ironic purposes_.) You figured your brother was already gone, he was hardly around, so busy with work and whatnot. Not like it bugged you, he was there when you needed him and you had everything you would need. Hell you even had a decent car. For your sixteenth birthday Bro went all out and got you a 2010 Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the sound system in that car was _bad ass_.

Your cereal was gone within ten minutes and you were packing up a few things into your backpack. You had a small dangly Smuppet keychain you kept in the front pocket of your bookbag for good luck, the first one your bro ever got you. Lately you'd been thinking about taking it out, fucking bullies. You chuckle to yourself a little, being bullied was a bittersweet feeling, people were finally acknowledging your existence but for all the wrong reasons.

The stereo in your car is turned fully up when you start the engine, you used to jump every time – cursing yourself for forgetting to turn it down ahead of time, but now it was a normal thing. Driving to school was as normal as ever, minus accidentally running the stop sign on Tenth Street and praying nobody noticed.

Maplehoof High School was the biggest school in the county, maybe that's why you went unnoticed so long? Only extraordinarily cool people stood a chance in the social system at Maplehoof. Pulling up next to you in the student parking lot was prime example numero uno. _Roxy Lalonde_. Beautiful, popular, rich beyond belief, threw a wild party every other weekend, and if that wasn't enough she had armcandy. Not just any old armcandy, she could have any boy she wanted, and she wanted _Jake English._

Jake English used to be your best friend, and hell you'd like to think he still was, minus the fact he probably doesn't even remember your name. You hadn't actually talked to him since the last day of Seventh grade, after that he kind of just disappeared. You hadn't heard his name after that until the second week of your sophomore year of highschool.

"_Did you see the new kid?" "English? Yeah he's a totally hottie." "Is he the same one from elementary school?" "With the buck teeth?" "Braces do wonders!" "Jake English is back."_

When it was finally confirmed to be the same Jake, it seemed too late to reform your friendship. Lalonde caught wind of his arrival and snatched him up. They made the high school dream couple, pretty blonde and attractive dark-brunette. All the more reason for them to be voted Homecoming King and Queen next weekend.

_Homecoming_. You mentally scoffed. Another stupid rue for your school too make money – money that would surely be spent on toupees and fake tans. Maplehoof had so many rich children attending that there was more money available than needed. Hmph.

You shook your head, light blonde hair sticking up every-which-way. You could never this that rat's nest to lie down. You put on your completely un-ironic DC sunglasses. (You used to wear big dorky anime sunglasses – but have since grown out of that phase.) Clicked open the car door, then locking your car, stepped out with your book bag.

The poorly paved stupid parking lot stretched a good few hundred feet, but luckily you found a spot near the school. You pushed through the heavy front doors of the building and headed directly towards your locker. Well, as directly as possible, you had to go up a flight of stairs and around a corner to get to your locker. At the beginning of the year you intentionally asked for an offset locker, for two reasons. One, you didn't care for the crowds that always surrounded the main locker blocks; and two, you were quick enough to get to your locker between classes when necessary.

You pulled your Algebra book out of your backpack and dropped it on the lowest shelf of your locker – making a large thunking noise. You only had algebra on Tuesdays and Thursdays because frankly you fucking rocked at Algebra. It's a good thing you rocked at it too, because your brother was awful at it, so asking him for help was useless.

"Hey there Gayder." You grimaced, not this asshole. "You're a little late today huh, _Dick_?" They chuckled. "Making out with your boyfriend before school?" You calmly shut your locker, desperately trying to ignore him. "Hey, I'm talking to you Strider." He shoved you again.

You gritted your teeth and turned to face him. "Why are you such a dick, Zahhak?" He was grinning smugly, fulling knowing he was scratching the surface – close to breaking you… Again. What an _asshole_.

"S'matter Stridick? That's all you go? A question with a mild insult? Weak sauce bro." He shoved you again. "Expected better from you, y'know? Guess you're not cool enough. Do your brother proud, take me down a notch. I dare you."

Oh, you'd take him down a notch, or a hundred. You tightened your fist, fully reading to bash his face in, but you stop. You'd already gotten two strikes against you just in the last three weeks, one more and you'd be suspended – goodbye college. You take a deep breath and push past him

He's laughing maniacally and calls from behind, "That's right Stridick, walk away, keep walking the like coward you are." You grimaced again, you weren't a coward and you hated being called one, but you didn't want (rather couldn't for your own sake) start a scene in the middle of the hallway.

You were trying to push the thoughts aside as you walked into your homeroom class. It wasn't actually a class, just a free hour (or two for the lucky few like yourself) to catch up on work, read, or just dick around. You didn't have any homework to do and you didn't bring any reading material so you sort of just lollygag around doodling some unintelligible things on a piece of notebook paper. You were allowed to walk about freely during homeroom classes but you had no place to go, so you stay in the comfort of your small classroom desk.

Homeroom was uneventful as always, you welcomed the sound of the bell, next was what could only be classified as your favorite elective – robotics. Only students who passed all there classes the year prior with a 87% or higher had the option to take robotics – lucky you. There were only two classes of robotics, one on Monday and one Friday, you were in the Friday class.

"Settle down please," The teacher bickered. Today was the start of a new assignment – 'battlebots', something you liked to think you were already pretty damn good at. The teacher never really paid much notice to the class unless it was assignment day, evaluation day, or the principal was going from class to class seeing that things ran smoothly. "Students!" The sound of an air horn rang through the room.

The class snapped their attention, but when the teacher (you're not even sure of the teacher's name at this point) began discussing what was to be done several students zoned out. "This is a _partnered_ project." And their attention was back, along with silent glances at their friends. "I will be assigning the partners, however." A sea of groans filled the air. That's the best way to troll and ignorant lot of teenagers.

The names began to roll out, some sparking better reactions than others. Occasionally one side of a pairing groaned full heartedly – making sure their partner knew how much they didn't want to work with them. You were twisting your mechanical pencil around in your fingers when your name was finally called.

"We had one student left over from Monday's class, and one in this class. Dirk Strider – I see you as most fit to take on the challenge of working with somebody from a totally different class." You reluctantly nodded, hating having attention placed on you. "That's why I've paired you with Jake English – you'll be starting the Monday class next week."

You kept a stoic face, but inside your eyes were wide. _Holy shit, you haven't talked to him in years, he probably doesn't remember you… Oh good lord, do not embarrass yourself, Dirk._

The end of class can't come fast enough after that, but just as you were about to leave the teacher (who's name you still didn't know) called you back. "Dirk, wait a minute."

You turn on your heel to face the slightly plump bearded man. "Hm?"

"I want you to come here directly after school, I've asked Jake too as well. So you can at least get partially acquainted before you endure such a big project." You nod and turn to talk out again – this time without interruptions.

The rest of the day goes by so slowly after that, the only think you can think about is "_meeting" _Jake. Heh, too bad you already know him. The anticipation was building, by the time you reached last hour you were anxious as could be. (You'd managed to avoid the assholes who made gay jokes most of the day.) The final bell rang and you quickly hurried to your locker, shoved all your books and useless shit into it and practically sprinted to the robotics room. You toned down your obvious anxiousness before rounding the last corner to the room, calm cool and steady.

The robotics room door was wide open, welcoming you inside. You dropped your backpack by the door and looked around, a little confused.

"Dirk!" The burly voice of your robotics teacher echoed. "Right on time! English, come on, I'd like you to meet your partnet."

There was some clanking in the teacher's private back office, Jake stepped out a few seconds later. This is the first time you really got a _good_ look at him since his return. _Holy. Shit. _He had perfect dark brown (or black depending on how you saw it) hair, his once huge buck teeth were actually fairly normal sized (still an apparent overbite however), he wore sleek square rimmed glasses, and had the most beautiful green eyes you'd ever seen. You liked to think you weren't gay, but hot damn, English was fiiiine.

He straightened the collar of his green shirt (that he wore as a jacket) and looked up at you. You quickly jerked your attention to the teacher – not wanting to seem odd for staring.

"Hey, Strider." Your eyes drifted back to Jake. He smiled at you like an idiot. "Didn't figure you still went to school around here, never heard from you – or rather about you."

_He remembered you. _The teacher smirked triumphantly and waddled back to his private office. "Uhh, sup?" Is all you could manage to say, because holy shit, Jake knew who you were. After a year of thinking he'd totally forgotten about you, here he was talking to you like he was still your best friend… Was he still your best friend?

He chuckled and ruffled his hair a little then walked over to you. "Same ol' same ol' I see, huh Dirk?" He laughed a little more, his voice sounded so much different than you remembered. All you could do was smile and sheepishly nod. "What, got nothin' to say to your best friend? I'm hurt Strider – after _all_ this time."

You shook your head and smirked a little, "Nothing at all." He laughed again and suddenly wrapped you into a big hug. "E-English what're you doing?"

"What?" He stepped back, still laughing. "I'm not allowed to Brohug my best friend – who I haven't seen in three years?"

"Three and a half actually…" You grumbled.

"Aww, how sweet! You do remember me!" His sense of humor was completely apparent – it seemed like everything was a joke to him. He must not have caught wind of your recent run-ins with school fame; again, all for the wrong reasons.

"Like I could forget somebody as big headed as you!" You smirked and laugh too. He fakes shock and then shoves you a little, it was like nothing had changed – like you'd been friends this whole time.

"How have you been?" He finally asked after a few minutes of friendly laughter.

You shrug. "Like you said," And you smirk again, "Same old, same old."

He laughs again about to ask you another question when a voice comes over the intercom, "Jake English please come to the front office." He frowns.

"I guess I'll see you later man." You grabbed your book bag about to leave, he does the same and you both part ways. You didn't want that conversation to end. Monday couldn't come fast enough…

**oOo**

(AN: Okay, now that all the boring introduction character life story blah blah blah shit is out of the way – next chapter has Dirk growing ever fonder of Jake, plus Homecoming which holds a BIG surprise ;DDD (sidenote an: i should really stick to writing essays and now fiction OTL))


	2. Chapter 2

(AN: I reread my first chapter when I wasn't half-asleep, and holy fuck what have I gotten myself into… o_o I have no idea how to talk/pester like Jake – forgive me)

**oOo**

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, you hadn't seen your brother since that morning. Nothing was going on outside, there was nothing on TV, life handed you a platter of boring and you so unwillingly took it. Around 7 PM you finally decided you'd go fuck around on the computer, actually you hadn't checked your Pesterchum in a few days, had you?

**[timaeusTestified received chum request from golgothasTerror]**

Who's this douchebag? You clicked accept, only to be pestered almost immediately.

**[golgothasTerror began pestering timaeusTestified]**

**GT: Hey!**

**TT: Who are you?**

**GT: Oh, gosh I almost forgot, haha!**

**GT: It's me, Jake.**

**TT: Oh.**

**TT: Sup?**

**GT: I reasoned that this project you come across easier if we were pals online too!**

**TT: I suppose that makes sense.**

**GT: I don't actually know what to say to you though…**

**TT: We're both at a loss, bro.**

**GT: Well bollocks. **

**TT: …**

**GT: Haha! Sorry!**

**TT: It's cool.**

**GT: I guess I should be going then, I've already started researching for out project.**

**GT: This is gonna be great!**

**TT: Alright, I'll see you Monday then.**

**GT: Actually I was hoping I could stop by your house tomorrow?**

**TT: I guess so…**

**GT: Alright!**

**[golgothasTerror ceased pestering timaeusTestified]**

**TT: But how do you know where I live?**

**TT: Fuck.**

You leaned back in your computer chair and inwardly smiled. Why did that make you so happy? More importantly, why were you so excited for tomorrow? You sighed and logged out of your Pesterchum, back to lazily sitting in front of the TV flipping through channels until you passed out. The last thing you can remember before falling asleep was thinking about Jake…

There was a shooting pain through your whole body and you jolted awake. You were disoriented and confused for several seconds before realization set it. The sun was beating through the living room window and you were on the floor, you must've fallen asleep on the couch and just rolled off. Fuck that hurt like a bitch.

You glanced at your wristwatch, "11:30, fuck" Stand up, yawn, and stretch – temporarily forgetting you were expecting company today. The bathroom mirror greeted you with untamed hair and a face imprinted with the marks of a folded blanket. You splashed a handful of cold water over you entire face and brushed out your hair as best as possible. You made a mental note that you were almost out of toothpaste – but you'd probably forget within thirty minutes.

**oOo**

Jake had been there, at your house, for about three hours now. Just talking… and talking… and talking. He rambled a lot. It was kind of adorable. You started to take notice of all the little things he did, you knew you shouldn't but there was just something… attractive about Jake? You couldn't quite put your finger on it but you wanted it to go away.

His teeth were still really prominent even if they were straighter, his hair stuck up in several places, he had the deepest green eyes you'd ever seen, he nervously rubbed the back of his head often, and his laugh… Why was his laugh so adorable?

Better question: why were you thinking these thoughts? You shook your head a little, hoping Jake didn't notice. He stood up, "So I'll see you in class tomorrow!" You nodded and smiled a little. Why did he have to be leaving. "You've got the basic idea of the project, right?" You nodded again and stood up also, to see him out.

"Later, dude." You latched the door and pressed your back against it and sunk down. What in the fuck was wrong with you? He's your best friend… Well you like to think he still is.

School the next day was pretty average, robotics was the last class on Mondays (rather than the third, like Fridays), and frankly you couldn't wait for it. You entered the classroom and got a few stares from people who didn't know you were switching classes, your eyes scanned the room to find Jake. He was at the desk in the far back near the teacher's office. He waved you over and you inwardly smiled.

"Hey Dirk!" He beamed as you put your book bag down beside the desk (each set of partners had one desk to share, larger than the average school desk, with two chairs).

"Sup." You plopped down beside him.

"Not much!" He slid a textbook in front of you, "Just researching how to go about this project is all!" You glanced at the book and back at him, he was doing that thing where he doesn't stop talking, again. "I was thinking we could probably do a really unique design, that'd be hilarious! We could like shape it like a rabbit or whatever!" He was laughing at the idea.

"A bunny rabbit…" You laughed too. "You want to build a fighting robot shaped like a rabbit?" He nodded. "That makes as much sense as sunglasses that know how to use the internet." He laughed again.

You wish something extraordinary would've happened that class, but nothing did, you talked about the project, planned your rough designs and that was that. Actually, the rest of the week was boring… You saw Jake a few times and he stopped by your house for an hour on Wednesday but that was it. Before you knew it, Friday rolled around and the entire school was chaos. It was the day of fall homecoming.

You didn't plan on going to homecoming, so you went straight home after school. The past few days you'd been trying to rid your head of thoughts that you thought you shouldn't be thinking. Thoughts about Jake. Why were you thinking these thoughts? He was your best bro! He had a girlfriend! Not to mention you were pretty sure you _weren't_ gay.

Around seven PM you started dozing off, almost asleep when your phone started vibrating. It was a text. Weird, you hardly ever get texts… Oh! From Jake.

"_Hey! Dirk are you gonna go to homecoming?"_

"_Nah, I think it's stupid."_

"_Oh come on Dirk! It'll be fun!"_

"_Why, so I can watch you be crowned king of pointless occasions?"_

"… _Shut up. Just please come!"_

"_Le sign. Fine. But I can't guarantee I'll stay."_

"_Fair enough, I'll see you there then!"_

"_Yeah, whatever."_

You didn't plan on going to homecoming but it looked like you were anyway. You didn't change your clothes, blue jeans and a t-shirt was as formal as you'd get. (Well, that and a hoodie, November weather was kind of nippy.) You didn't even put on your good sneakers, who cares if there was a little dirt on your converse?

The school parking lot was unreasonably full, did that many people really give a shit? You sighed and got out of your car.

"_I'm here, happy?"_

You glanced at the time on your phone, just past eight. You rolled your eyes and waited for Jake to reply.

"_Come inside! I'll wait right by the door kay?"_

"_Whatever."_

Just like he promised he was right inside the door, beaming. He didn't dress up either, you assumed nobody did – homecoming wasn't as big as prom. You gave me a small smile and looked around. "Well.. now what?"

He grabbed your hand. Your eyes went wide behind your glasses. "Come on!" He dragged you through the hallway to the gymnasium. Holy fuck, could they play the music any louder. And double-holy-fuck, were there even this many students in the school! (Of course there were.)

You scanned the crowed, your eyes were met with an attractive blonde girl mackin' on one of the football players… Wait, holy shit, was that Roxy Lalonde? What the fuck… Jake must've noticed you looking because he laughed and said, "We broke up like two weeks ago."

Wait, what? They broke up and you didn't hear about it… But Roxy was the hot topic at school – you always picked up on whispers in the hallway. Well shit, this made you unreasonably happy. You shook off the feelings as quickly as possible and turned to Jake.

"Well isn't gonna be awkward when you're bother elected?" You cocked and eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Nah, we're on good terms… I'm just not her _'type' _I guess… That's how she put it anyway, I don't really get it."

You nod. "So now what then?" He took your hand and pulled you through the crowd towards the stage. "English! Wh-What're you doing!"

"Nothing." He grinned. "I just wanted you to come hang out I guess." If he had the ability to use and emoticon at this moment it'd probably be something like '^^' because that's how happy he seamed. It was adorable.

_Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech._ There was a piercing noise from the speak a few feet away, and a spotlight illuminated the center of the stage. Principal MS was standing in front of a microphone enthusiastically. Time to announce the obvious winners.

"Studants! Before you get too carried away dancing – I'd like to call up the nominees for the crowning of the fall homecoming king and queen!" There were a few cheers and the principal pulled out a small piece of paper. "First the ladies! Kanaya Maryam. Jane Crocker. Feferi Peixes. And lastly, Roxy Lalonde!" He cleared his throat. "And now the gentlemen! Jake English. Equius Zahhak. Sollux Captor. And lastly, Dirk Strider!"

You choked. "What?" Jake was beaming. He set you up! "Jake did you-"

He nodded, he was laughing really hard at this point. "You're so uptight! So I nominated you for king too!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

The principal continued talking, on stage, while you and Jake argued several feet away. "The boxes to vote are in the hallway outside the gym, get your votes in before 10!" He walked off stage and the music began again.

"It doesn't have to make sense!" He snorted. "You should've seen your face though! Priceless!"

You mumbled sourly and frowned. "This isn't funny."

"Oh stop being so sour!" He shoved you. "Have a little fun!"

You sighed and 'had a little fun', it pleased Jake to see you smiling and laughing at his Jokes. Ten o'clock rolled around and before you knew it you were awkwardly (on the inside – totally stoic out) standing on stage waiting for an award you knew you wouldn't win.

Jake was happily standing beside you talking your ear off. You inwardly smiled. His name was called, along with Roxy's, as expected. They each gave a short thank you. He turned back and smiled at you, you smiled back. You turned to exit the stage, as did he. Everything was smooth, everything was oka-

Trip. Jake tripped. He was walking behind you and he tripped.

You spun around and Jake's lips came crashing against yours. Both of you still half way on stage. In front of the _entire_ school. It took a few seconds for you to register what had just happened. Oh shit…

The entire crowd murmured as you pulled your head back. _Oh. Fuck. _You just kissed the newly elected prom king in front of the entire school, his girlfriend included.(Well ex-girlfriend.) This was _not_ good; so much for your whole 'not gay' thing. Your eyes scanned the crowd frantically and then locked with Jake's. His eyes were wide, you wanted to run, you wanted to get out of there but your feet wouldn't carry you. You couldn't think. You couldn't breathe. You were out of air, you needed _oxygen_.

He tried to stutter out an apology but he couldn't form words. You both stood there in shock. So much for his reputation.

**oOo**

(AN: Jesuuuus. I'm sorry it took 4 days to stop procrastinating. Anyway, it's 5:50 AM and I just finished this. Yay for all the highschool accidental kiss clichés. I think the next chapter will be from Jake's POV . and also super short ^^'')


	3. Chapter 3

You tried to form some sort of fathomable apology, but words wouldn't come. You stared at Dirk, he was just as shocked as you. Your name is Jake English and you accidentally kissed your best friend in front of the entire school… And… you liked it?

No. No no no. Dirk was your best bro. Of course you didn't like it.

… Except you did. But, why?

Why did you suddenly find yourself in a mess of new feelings? Why didn't you play it off as a joke, an accident, something besides standing there like an idiot! Dirk was standing there too, staring at you, well you assumed – those damn glasses.

Your eyes drifted to the crowd of students – you'd only been standing there a few seconds but it seemed like a year. What did you do? Oh God…

Finally somebody in the sea of your peers broke the awkward silence, "Ohhhhh, Gaydirk makes his move." There were several snickers followed by another remark, "Hey English, that why Lalonde didn't want you?" More laughter. You could feel your face reddening.

Dirk swallowed hard, and opened his mouth to speak – or so you thought. Your eyes went wide, he crashed his mouth on yours and kissed you again… In front of everyone. The crowd went silent again. He took a step forward, causing you to stumble backwards and break the kiss. You landed on the stage with an "oof".

Why… What..

"Dirk?" You sputtered out.

"S-sorry." His voice was shaky, if you could read his mind it'd probably be a jumbled mess of '_why the fuck did you just do that!'_

But you couldn't read his mind, that didn't stop your own from screaming. '_Why the fuck did he just do that?'_

Dirk took a step back, and another, and two more – completely off the stage. He turned to the crowd, or rather the group of sneering confused teenager peers. His eyes drifted over them for a second.

"Well?" His voice echoed. "What're you staring at?"

Nobody answered.

"I'm sure you've all kissed somebody too!" There were a few whispers but nobody said anything directly to Dirk. "You all saw Jake _fall_."

"What about you! You kissed Jake full on, you fucking queer!" Somebody yelled, Dirk gritted his teeth and turn back to you. You were still sitting on the stage in an awkward fashion.

"When you love somebody…" He began. "You do stupid things." He smirked and turned on his heel towards the backdoor of the stage. He left.

He… loved you… He just… He said he loved you… and he left.

Nothing made sense, your head was spinning, your heart was in your stomach, and frankly you didn't want to be where you currently were. The spotlight on the stage was immensely hot, you closed your eyes tightly and wished for it all to stop.

Silence.

All the whispers, murmurs, everything – gone. The last thing you remember is your head colliding with the wood of the stage.

_At least you weren't so confused now._

**OoO**

(AN: It's reallllly short, I know, but here it is. ^^'' I should really stop writing 4:30/5 AM XD)


	4. Chapter 4

(AN: O_O Sorry the last chapter was such a tease… .And sorry this took so long to post, I got a tablet and I can't stop drawing now ^u^ Also sorry for errors x-x)

**OoO**

The door to the stage closed behind you, your heart has racing. You just did that. You made that happen. In front of the entire school, you just told Jake you loved him. You pressed your back against the door and slid downwards. The biggest smile was glued to your face, but your hands were shaking like a leaf.

You ran one hand through your hair and took a deep breath. You didn't plan on going to homecoming… But you were glad you did. Your head leaned back onto the door and you closed your eyes, even if half the school hated you now, your life was so perfect at the moment that you couldn't find it in you to care.

After several minutes of silence, your phone vibrated in your pocket. You pulled it out and flipped it open, a text from Jane. Jeez, she hardly ever texted you anymore… Must be important. You wondered for a second if she was at homecoming too but shrugged the idea off – she had no time for such silly endeavors.

_"Dirk, we should talk."_

"_What about?" _ You replied, head still in the clouds.

"_Jake."_

Wait… What? Why did Jane want to talk- your phone buzzed again.

"_You do realize what you just did, right, Dirk? In front of the entire school?"_

…. Jane… Was in the crowd? Shit just got awkward.

"_You were in there?"_

"_Everyone goes to Homecoming at this school."_

"_Oh."_

"_Crap, I'll text you later, Jake just passed out."_

Wait what?

Passed out?

Your mind quickly concluded that it was your fault. You hesitated to stand up and placed a hand on the door handle. You shook your head and lowered your hand. There was no way you could go back in there, not after what you just did.

After a few deep breaths you found your way back to your car, but instead of leaving you sat inside it for hours, waiting. Eventually the entire parking lot was almost empty. Jake's car was several rows ahead of yours, and still there. He hadn't left yet.

Now was your chance to confront him… Could you even? You weren't feeling as brave as you were a few hours prior. You slinked down in your seat and thought about the consequences for what seemed like hours. But only minutes later there was a rapping on the driver's side window. Your head shot up and your heart sank down.

You took a deep breath and opened the door. He stepped back and allowed you to get out. This was it, you ruined everything, he hated you he-

"Did you mean it?" Jake's voice was shaking. He was nervous. You nodded, not making eye contact (or even looking at him). "You meant what you said…" You nodded again. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and went silent.

You stood like that for several minutes, not talking, not looking at each other, nothing. He eventually broke the silence again.

"I don't hate you, Dirk."

"That's great." You deadpanned. You weren't trying to be an ass but 'don't hate' doesn't equal 'I love', and somewhere deep down you were really hoping he'd say the latter.

"Would you look at me, please!" He tone was demanding but still heavy with nerves.

Your eyes drifted to his face. He was crying.

You'd never seen Jake English cry. Not once, and you'd known him for years. His beautiful green eyes were swollen with tears and he looked at you, so confused. Your vision drifted across his face, from his eyes to his lips. You inwardly smiled, those lips, the ones you'd never imagined you'd taste and now they were all you wanted.

No. They weren't all.

You wanted everything about Jake. He was funny, smart, adorable… And thinking about it, maybe you kind of felt this way all those years ago – before you lost connection… Maybe it wasn't such a new feeling.

Jake opened his mouth to speak again, but quickly closed it; whatever it was he wanted to say, he couldn't. He pursed his lips, tears slowly subsiding; you guessed it was your turn. You pulled him into this train wreck, all that you could do now was clean up the debris (or worsen the damage).

You inhaled quickly and quietly and began, "I did mean it. I didn't ever plan on telling you, but in the heat of the situation… I did. And I'm sorry if that's the worst most embarrassing thing you've ever experienced, but I told you… and… I'm glad I did. I…" You were visible shaking now; your words were coming faster than your thoughts. You smiled and inhaled again. This was it, now or never. "I love you, Jake English."

He didn't move, he didn't speak, and he didn't blink.

For a brief second you were worried he was going to pass out again (you naturally assumed Jane wouldn't lie, especially about that). But he didn't, what he did next was far more surprising… And far more enjoyable.

He pressed his lips against yours; you could still feel the tears on his cheeks. You hesitated for a second but kissed back. It didn't make sense, he hadn't said anything, he demonstrated no attraction… And yet, here you were, a week after you'd talked for the first time in years, outside kissing in the school parking lot.

And you were sure what would happen next, but that really didn't matter because right now all you wanted to do was kiss him back.

So you did.

And the kiss seemed too platonic, nothing about it screamed passion…

Well, not until Jake took an awkward step towards you, forcing you back against your car… You were taken aback by his actions, breaking the kiss and looking at him with concern. "Jake… What're you..."

He smiled; this entire scene was so cliché in your mind, the words he spoke next included. "I'd been waiting for you to tell me." A look of confusion swept over your face. "I love you too, Strider."

And that really surprised you. He hardly knew you (and frankly you hardly knew him). You again questioned how recent the feelings were, well you started to, Jake didn't give you much time.

He wrapped his arms around your neck and kissed you again.

Suddenly, kissing him didn't feel right… Because you hardly knew each other… But you couldn't stop. From the looks of it, he couldn't stop either.

It felt so wrong, but… it was so right.

**OoO**

(AN: Aaaaand, the award for most cliché high school AU goesssss to… me. X_X It's still not as long as the first two, and I'm sorry for that, but it's 4:50 AM and I planned to go to bed like two hours ago XD)


	5. UPDATE POSTPONED

SO

MY LAPTOP STOPPED WORKING

I WONT BE ABLE TO UPDATE AS MUCH

THE CHAPTER I WAS WORKING ON IS COMPLETELY GONE NOW

IM SORRY


	6. discontinued

It doesn't look like my laptop is gonna be fixed any time soon, so I'm gonna go ahead and discontinue this story :( 


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